Technical Field
Embodiments described herein relate to the field of processors and more particularly, to techniques for reducing power consumption in memory arrays.
Description of the Related Art
A processor is generally hardware circuitry designed to execute the instructions defined in a particular instruction set architecture implemented by the processor, for the purpose of implementing a wide variety of functionality specified by software developers. To implement a given architecture, processors typically include a variety of types of circuits. For example, a processor may include functional units that are designed to operate on data to produce arithmetic, logical, or other types of results. Functional units and other execution-related processor logic may be implemented using combinational logic gates that implement various Boolean functions, often in combination with state elements such as registers, latches, flip-flops, or the like. A processor may also include storage arrays that are primarily designed to store data rather than process or transform it; storage arrays may be used within processors to implement various types of caches, register files, queues, buffers, or other types of storage structures.
Power requirements tend to substantially influence the cost and performance of a system that employs a particular integrated circuit design. For example, excessive power requirements may in turn require more expensive circuit packaging and cooling. In mobile applications, power consumption directly affects battery life and total device run time. Accordingly, the power requirements of various circuits within an integrated circuit may have far-reaching implications for system cost and performance.